Barrels of Beer and Empty Crates
by Fischadler
Summary: Of Mirajane's barmaid duties, she's in charge of unloading and unpacking the boxes of food being delivered to Fairy Tail. This task is easier said than done, especially with empty crates and Laxus sniffing around the kitchen. [Laxus x Mirajane]


Title: Barrels of Beer and Empty Crates  
Date: April 17, 2014  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Fairy Tail characters.  
Of Mirajane's barmaid duties, she's in charge of unloading and unpacking the boxes of food being delivered to Fairy Tail. This task is easier said than done, especially with empty crates and Laxus sniffing around the kitchen.

I was watching some cooking show on the tv and was all like… I need to write this fic. I hope you all enjoy it.

**Barrels of Beer and Empty Crates**

"And this is the last of it."

Mirajane Strauss gave a quick nod of her head, "Thanks again Nolan!"

"No problem Miss Strauss." The young man gave the slightest bow forward whilst tilting his cap to cover the growing blush on his face. Although the Fairy Tail headquarters was always a stop on his morning delivery route, he could never quite get used to seeing the guild's pin-up model every day… and who could blame him? She was always so flawlessly beautiful.

He handed her the clipboard.

Mirajane darted her eyes to the dotted line, "Sorry, but do you have a pen on you?"

"Right here Miss." The young man reached into his shirt pocket, pulling out a pen.

"Here we go." The ivory haired mage returned the clipboard and pen, while offering her finest smile after signing for the large delivery.

"Thank you very much Miss Strauss." He lightly shuffled around on the spot.

And he couldn't help but notice the way she was batting her eyelids.

"… W-we're…" He cleared his throat, "Tomorrow we're getting a shipment of Caelum Apples in the morning."

"Oh." She widened her pretty eyes, "How lucky! They're said to be unrivalled in taste. I would have loved to try one… But I guess that'll have to wait for next season… But they're so rare…"

"I…" He could feel his cheeks grow hotter, "I'll make sure to set a few crates aside for you… No extra charge Miss Strauss."

And Mirajane made sure to give this young man a smile that will surely leave him at a loss of words, "I honestly can't thank you enough Nolan! Looks like apple pie will be on the menu tomorrow, please be sure to stop by once you're done your delivery route."

He offered a highly nervous, jittery yet excitedly ecstatic nod.

"Work hard!"

The poor man almost tripped walking back to his truck.

And as she watched him drive off while animatedly waving her hand, she couldn't help but feel her smile turn into a smirk. She knew Nolan for over year now (from the moment he was put in charge of delivering all of Fairy Tail's foodstuff for their bar). And from the moment they met, she knew exactly how to work him to get _exactly _what she wanted… and apples from Caelum off of Minstrel's western shores were by far the most flavourful, sweetest and savoury of all Earthland apples.

"… Do you usually flirt with the delivery boys?"

She could feel her shoulders tense up at the sudden voice coming from behind her.

Laxus Dreyar was probably Nolan's complete opposite. Unlike Fairy Tail's morning delivery boy, Mirajane couldn't quite figure Makarov's grandson out. He was brash, overbearing, tended to be a lone wolf and was extremely rude (99 percent of the time). Since his excommunication and return, he remained somewhat the same… with minor improvements. He was certainly calmer these days and showed a lot more care for his comrades… but other than that, he was pretty much just a more subdued version of his previous self.

But boys were all the same. Show them a little skin, offer a sweet smile and hopefully he'll leave.

"It's called being nice." She corrected, "Thanks to my _flirting_, tomorrow's special is going to be Caelum apple pie."

Laxus' looked the slightest bit amused, "So Fairy Tail has to resort to our cover girl's pretty little smile to get apple pie?"

"Your words." She shrugged, making sure to shine one of those pretty little smiles over his way.

He didn't look fazed.

But Laxus aside, she still had a job to do. Grabbing a hold of the invoice, she triple checked the number of crates filled with various produce and ingredients, and counted the number of barrels of beer and wine. Everything was perfectly in order. All she needed to do now was carry everything inside, which was never really a problem because despite her size she was still an S-class mage and perfectly capable of carrying a few hundred pounds. But the Fairy Tail members and outside guests sure did eat a lot and piled up in front of her was over thirty crates of fresh groceries and-

"Where do you want this stuff?"

She almost jumped out of her skin.

She spun around and gave the blond haired man a wide smile, "It's okay. Go inside, I actually think I saw Freed, Bickslow and Evergreen walk in this morning. I can handle this much."

"Never mind them." He murmured, grabbing a hold of a few crate loads.

She glanced back: not counting the crates of food, there was still all those barrels of beer (mostly Cana's share)… Maybe a little extra help now and then wouldn't be too bad.

"They go in the kitchen." She replied.

"Really? Just the kitchen?" He frowned.

"Well, from there I need to open up each box and organize it either into storage, the freezer or bring them down to the cellar." She explained.

"Oh." He mumbled, turning around and carrying his crate load in the direction of the kitchen.

Mirajane couldn't help but shake her head, feeling the smile on her face grow. Although Laxus hadn't really changed much, he certainly talked back less than he did before his excommunication. And with that said, she supposed that maybe it was possible for even people like Laxus to turn over a new page and start anew.

After walking back and forth from the loading and unloading station to the kitchen, she hadn't expected the dragon slayer to stick around and help organize all the ingredients. Wiping the undetectable beads of sweat off her forehead, she took a look at the time and was pleasantly surprised to see that she was about half an hour ahead of schedule.

… Maybe she can take this time to check up on Lucy.

The celestial spirit mage came back yesterday from a mission with Natsu, Happy, Gray and Erza looking a little worn out. Lucy had explained that during the mission, Natsu and Gray had gotten into an argument about what flavour was the best ice cream and ended up destroying half the town. Apparently Erza didn't help matters either as her mediation took out the other half of town. Regardless… the poor celestial spirit mage was broke once more and Mirajane couldn't help but worry if that girl was eating a proper breakfast in the morning.

… She wondered if she should bring over some pancakes, eggs and bacon.

It'll only take a second to whip up after all…

As she was about to grab some ingredients and go, something quite big obstructed her view and held her back.

She frowned, "… Is everything alright Laxus?"

Maybe it was because he's been so quiet over this past hour, but she had almost completely forgotten the blond haired man was still lurking around. She thought for sure he would have gotten bored halfway through and would have joined the rest of his Raijinshuu by now. But size and all, it was kind of hard not to notice the dragon slayer standing by the kitchen's doorway with a thoughtful frown covering his face.

"Is something wrong?" She rephrased her question, concern slowly creeping over her.

He shook his head.

"… Then what is it?" She blinked, hoping her hair wasn't sticking up in any weird places.

"Bet you can't fit into that crate." Laxus pointed.

She blinked once more.

… _What?_

Glancing over her shoulder, she looked at the rather medium sized box that once contained many cartons of eggs.

"Come on." The dragon slayer prodded, "A beer on the house if you can't fit."

"… And if I do?" She had to admit: she was a little bit amused.

"I'll take over your bar duties for an hour." He shrugged.

Hmm… That actually didn't sound like too bad of a deal. A beer was nothing (especially compared to the amount Cana usually chugs) and an hour to sit down with Lisanna and Elfman, or maybe Erza, Natsu and company sounded quite nice. Heck, she might even take that hour to herself. It's been quite a while since she's been able to just kick back, sit down and relax.

"Watch me." She felt a grin make its way onto her face, as she opened the lid to the crate and easily climbed in. To think… there was still extra space. Poking her head out, she drowned herself in Laxus' reaction. There was a playful grin beginning to grow on his lips and calling it anything other than charming would be a complete understatement. She tore her eyes away from him and scanned the kitchen, "I'll give you a chance to save yourself."

"Oh?" He arched an amused brow.

"If you can fit into that crate over there I'll take that hour back." She pointed, "If not, you need to work for two hours."

… Maybe if she got two hours, she could go back home. Maybe take a nice long bubble bath.

The blond haired man crossed his arms and scrutinized the box, "… Fine. You're on."

And she watched as he easily climbed into the box. But as he started to crouch into the box, he came to slow stop.

Her grin widened, "What's wrong?"

"This is as low as I go. There's not enough leg room."

She clapped her hands together.

Two hours! She was definitely going to make the trip back home, beeline it for the large tub and just soak there until her fingers turn into prunes. She just couldn't wait! She was beginning to feel her cheeks aching from how far her smile had stretched across her face. This was going to be fantastic!

"I can't accept this." Laxus climbed out of his crate, "How about we up the stakes?"

"I'm listening." The large grin she sported didn't falter the slightest.

"See the big box over there?" The dragon slayer pointed.

"No way." She rolled her eyes, "I know you can fit in there."

"Let me finish." His smirk was turning somewhat devilish. And despite all the alarms going off in her head, she couldn't help but think how that expression suited the man. Not that he was ever bad-looking or anything… but maybe he was more gorgeous than she originally thought he was. Laxus continued, "If you and I can't fit into that crate, I get free beers all day today."

She blinked.

"If we both fit, I'll work your entire shift."

Her eyes widened, "My entire…"

… _Hold on a second._

"Both of us?" She frowned.

"Scared you won't win?" He leered.

"… Bring it." She smirked.

She watched as Laxus easily climbed in, disappearing from view. It was certainly a big box… and if memory served her correctly, it once held a few pounds of colossal tuna (a known Fiore export). She definitely had victory in the bag. She gingerly stepped into the box, careful not to dig her heels into the dragon slayer sitting comfortably at the base of the crate. She twisted around to get a better view of her surroundings… if she kind of straddled the larger man, and really leaned into his chest then there should be enough space.

Placing her legs on either side of the man, she was practically sitting on his lap. But she took a moment to look at her surroundings once more before a large grin covered her face, "Enjoy work today Mr. Dreyar."

"Not yet." The dragon slayer interrupted with that same handsome smirk, "It's not a win unless we can close the lid."

She rolled her eyes, "Please! That's easy."

Grabbing a hold of the lid, she easily closed the crate. Although she couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed that she wouldn't be able to see the look of utter defeat on Laxus' face now that he was definitely going to be working all day today. But the blond haired man had suddenly grown quiet and once she had stop talking, she was slowly, increasingly becoming aware of just how close their proximity was.

And she knew her face was probably all kinds of red as she tried to steady her breathing.

"… Mira?" His voice sent shivers down her spine.

This was more than nerve-wracking, "Hm?"

"I've always liked you."

And she couldn't help but feel disappointed once more that the crate's lid was blocking away all light and hiding whatever expression was on the dragon slayer's face. Although judging from Laxus' steady yet uncharacteristically soft tone of voice, she knew that Laxus was probably grateful for the cover. He's always been a proud man; this situation no doubt took a lot courage on his part.

"When I was gone… I got a taste of what it felt like to truly be alone." His voice was hushed and had a certain calmness to it that highlighted his newfound maturity, "I thought a lot about all the people in my life. I thought a lot about you. Ever since we thought Lisanna had passed away, I didn't know how to handle the situation and I ignored you when I should have supported you. I really took advantage of your kindness since then and… I shouldn't have treated you the way I had."

"I've forgiven you already." She replied in a voice that was just as hushed.

"Still…" Laxus' voice sounded somewhat pained, "I haven't forgiven myself."

She trailed her hands up broad shoulders, hoping to ease away all the worries he had kept secret until now.

"Especially since…" His voice trailed off.

And she strained her ears to hear what's next.

But no words came out.

Instead, she could feel a larger hand travel up her back landing at the base of her neck and pulling her closer and closer until she could feel his warm breaths against her face. And she closed her eyes, feeling the rest of the distance close between them as their lips melted together into a long kiss.

He pulled away, "Out of anyone else… I could always see myself marrying someone like you. Although, with my track record I don't blame you if-"

She leaned forward once more to close the gap between them, interrupting whatever else he was about to say. And she could feel his other hand move across her side, rubbing her in all the right spots as she involuntary let out a small moan. Then in this opportunity, she could feel his tongue dart into her mouth becoming entangled with her own as their lips remained locked together. She wrapper her arms around his shoulders and arched her back in an effort to get a little closer.

As they parted lips to breathe, she could feel his mouth latch onto her neck. Kissing and nibbling, as his hands worked to unzip her dress. She couldn't help the burst of giggles escaping through her lips, as she ran her fingers through his spiked hair encouraging whatever amazing thing he was doing her collarbone. As she could feel herself stripped down to her underwear, she moved to unbutton his shirt before her hands landed on the buckle of his belt.

It was getting a little frustrating. And again, she cursed the crate lid… because she couldn't quite figure out which part of the belt-

She stopped.

"Mira." Laxus didn't sound too pleased with the intermission.

"Shh." She whispered.

And there it was again… She could hear voices coming from outside. Voices that were slowly coming closer and closer and… Shit!

"Mira?" It was Lucy.

"She's not here." And that was Natsu.

"Why are you even looking for her?" Oh great… Gray was here too.

"Because I know I can rely on her." Lucy didn't sound too happy.

… Speaking of…

"I agree with Lucy! Aye! Mira always puts aside a big tuna for me!" Happy cheered.

"You can rely on me too you know." And that would be Erza…

Lucy sighed, "I haven't had real food in days! I'm flat broke, so I was kind of hoping… even if there were any of yesterday's leftovers or anything."

And it took all of Mirajane's willpower to stay inside the crate and not cook the poor girl the most delicious banquet ever. But she had to remind herself that she was half naked, Laxus was also somewhat naked himself and being inside a crate together would no doubt cause a huge commotion under Fairy Tail standards. And… great. Laxus was poking her… and he was poking her somewhere where both his hands were nowhere near.

Laxus pulled her closer to whisper in her ear, "Sounds like they left."

"Give it a minute." She quietly whispered back. But despite the fact that barely a second had passed, the dragon slayer's hands had already unhooked her bra and had travelled down her back to fondle her butt. And Mirajane just wished this minute would go by faster.

"Here's the delivery invoice." Gray's voice froze them on the spot. (No pun intended)

Laxus cursed aloud.

"… Did you hear something?" Erza sounded suspicious.

"Huh?" Thankfully Natsu was never mentally fully there half to most of the time.

"Nothing." Erza dismissed the issue.

"Look at all these crates. Mira always works so hard! You really have to admire her!" Lucy pointed out.

… _Shit_.

"It looks like she's already got half these crates unloaded and organized. That big box still has the lid on, so she's probably in the cellar or cold room and will be back here soon enough." Erza pointed out.

_Shit_. _Shit_. _Shit_.

"We should help her unload some of things." Lucy spoke out, "Mira's always helping us with our problems… I feel that it's time that we help her."

"That's a great idea Lucy!" Natsu sounded excited.

"I have to agree with Natsu for once." Even Gray sounded thrilled.

"Okay. Let me read the list…" Erza's voice was solid, "… Looks like that big box is colossal tuna."

"Tuna?" Happy sounded very happy indeed. (Pun intended?)

Mirajane winced… And there goes her peaceful day spent at home surrounded by bath salts and aromatic candles.

The lid slipped open.

"Now that's not tuna." Despite the disappointment, Happy was sporting the widest grin.

And from the corner of her eyes she could see Lucy with her jaw dropped and Erza whose face had turned redder than her hair.

"… But it looks very fishy to me." Gray was sniggering.

"Yes…" Natsu was trying to hold back his laughter, "Very fishy indee-"

Before the redhead could finish his sentence, he was met by an electrified punch to the face that pummelled him through the kitchen walls, flew him straight across the hall, and landed him into a messy heap on the other side of the guild. And although Mirajane could honestly say that Natsu probably deserved that one… there was a bigger concern.

Gildarts (here on a rare visit) had a lewd tilt to his lips as he angled his head to get a better view into the newly made hole in the wall, "… Lookie what's cooking in the kitchen Master."

The short wizard looked away and coughed.

There was probably a good minute of silent stillness following the S-class mage's not so innocent comment, until the entire guild erupted into a flurry of chaos.

But despite the commotion around them, Mirajane could feel her attention drawn back to the second-generation dragon slayer.

"Let's just put this lid back on."

And that striking smirk on Laxus' face was by far the most wickedly gorgeous thing she had ever seen.

"So Mira… where were we?"

And for the first time today, Mirajane was grateful for the lid covering their crate.

**The End.**

Note: Hope you all liked reading this. Please tell me what you think!


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